“The United Kingdom is a member state that holds full rights, and so it has to be represented at the heart of EU institutions. But politically, it’s absurd.”

For our researcher Thierry Chopin, “there’s still a slight chance that the British parliament votes on a Brexit deal before May 22 [the eve of the elections], which means they won’t have to hold EU elections. But that’s no longer likely.”

With the Brexit deadline delayed until autumn, Britain will still be an EU member when elections for the EU Parliament begin May 23 and thus obligated to elect its own MEPs. It is a confusing state of affairs that puts Europe in an “absurd” position.